This article discusses concepts related to character strengths and positive youth development and how these ideas can be applied to improve outcomes among gifted young people. A theory with roots in public health, The Theory of Triadic Influence (TTI), is discussed with examples applied to gifted populations. Practitioners and researchers from…

In their National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper, "Does Gifted Education Work? For Which Students?" Card and Giuliano (C & G) made an enormous splash in not just gifted education but also the world (e.g., "The Washington Post," "The Atlantic," Five Thirty Eight). In this commentary, we highlight…

Assessment is a crucial component of gifted education. Not only does it facilitate the recognition of the potential and specific needs of gifted students, it also monitors the progress and growth of gifted students, and allows for the evaluation of gifted education programs. In the present review, we synthesize the literature on assessment in…

The author provides guidelines for determining the target audience for a gifted program evaluation. Descriptions of several approaches for program evaluation are offered. (Author/SW)

The digest presents an overview of program evaluation in gifted and talented education. Reasons for program evaluation are offered, including the need to base decision making on valid and reliable data and the demands of accountability. Eight purposes of program evaluation are briefly considered: (1) documentation of the need for a program; (2)…

An evaluation process and model are described for formative evaluation of gifted programs. The model incorporates two approaches: process-oriented evaluation which defines essential program components and standards of acceptance and outcome-oriented evaluation which assesses components via student outcomes. (CL)

A model for annual evaluations of a school system's gifted programs is presented. The evaluation should address objectives in five program goal areas: identification, curriculum, staff development, parent and community involvement, and the evaluation process itself. (DB)

The paper discusses the need to evaluate gifted education programs, the relationship between evaluation and decision making, and the objectives of program evaluation. Three problem areas are cited: (1) the problem of higher level objectives, (2) measurement and statistical problems, and (3) practical problems. (Author/CL)

The article proposes an evaluation plan for gifted and talented programs that includes effective evaluation of program objectives as well as a matrix approach to assemble evaluation data. (CL)

Two evaluation design issues in gifted education are examined as they relate to outcome evaluations: selection of comparison groups and manipulation and control of variables. Alternative approaches are suggested for each aspect. (CL)

Guidelines for use in formative evaluation of gifted and talented programs focus on objectives, obstacles (such as using standardized tests to evaluate gifted programs), and models. Steps are listed for initiating, carrying out, and completing formative evaluation. (CL)

Six issues in the evaluation of gifted programs are considered: the purpose of evaluation, difficulties in defining student objectives in behavioral terms, potentially unrealistic and inappropriate expectations for the program, lack of valid measurement instruments, and lack of appropriate evaluation designs. (CL)

To overcome criticisms of gifted program evaluation, a university evaluation team and a public school program worked to develop evaluation instruments and procedures. The experiences of the first year of the cooperative effort are presented to illustrate the issues, problems, and benefits of such an arrangement. (Author/SB)

The author reviews types of measures for assessing the educational outcomes of gifted programs including questionnaires and checklists, norm-referenced achievement tests, criterion-referenced measures, and constructive-response and selective-response tests. (SW)

Guidelines for developing an evaluation plan for a gifted education program include recognizing the reluctance to spend money on evaluation, identifying what should be evaluated, deciding when programs should be reevaluated, determining overall evaluation principles, creating the evaluation design, and designing the evaluation plan to fit a…